I was visiting family on a 4-day trip to the Big Apple and asked Eric via e-mail if it would be ok to stop by, in case I'm in the neighborhood. He was kind enough to let me do so.

I arrived in New York, one of my favorite cities to visit, always in awe when I walk down the busy streets of Manhattan... the last time I was in New York was 10 years ago...

My cousin and I arrived at the specified address only to find a huge building, not atypical site in Manhattan. After opening the door and getting inside I quickly realized that I'll have to get past security first. I look and see a structure that separates me from him and as part of that structure is a computer, which allows you to enter ...

I was visiting family on a 4-day trip to the Big Apple and asked Eric via e-mail if it would be ok to stop by, in case I'm in the neighborhood. He was kind enough to let me do so.

I arrived in New York, one of my favorite cities to visit, always in awe when I walk down the busy streets of Manhattan... the last time I was in New York was 10 years ago...

My cousin and I arrived at the specified address only to find a huge building, not atypical site in Manhattan. After opening the door and getting inside I quickly realized that I'll have to get past security first. I look and see a structure that separates me from him and as part of that structure is a computer, which allows you to enter (via touchscreen, no less) the name of the company I'm interested in visiting. I happily entered C-L-I and figured it would be smart enough to get the rest... no such luck, it found nothing.

So, I tried some other name, trying to remember what the registered name of the company was, only to stumble into another Internet company, which I knew wasn't the one. I asked the nice guard there... the one with a gun, if he could help me out. The man appeared nice enough, but clearly somewhat ignorant since he's never heard of Clipmarks before. I began to suspect that I was in the wrong building (considering there are thousands of them on the island - this wasn't such a bad supposition). Who doesn't know Clipmarks? However, since he was in charge of order in that building and had weapons on him, I figured I better keep my 1st Amendment rights in my pocket before things escalate in the wrong direction.

Since all of my attempts proved futile - I thought I'd ask him for a name or two that I knew. After all this building probably housed a few thousand people, perhaps few tens of thousand, so even logically the chances of this guy knowing someone by name were close to nil - I was so desperate that I was willing to try anything...

When I uttered the name - the man thought for a moment and stated that there's a company with one of the names I mentioned and he'd call them. I thought I hit the jackpot. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. He said that he couldn't verify info and turned to another person who apparently knew what he was doing in that building.

I almost turned to leave when the man looked at my face and must've felt sorry for me (I know I was at that time) and he said he'll try another number. I figured I'd go through the motions and let him call but... and to my surprise - it was Eric G. on the other end of the line and not only that - he actually remembered who I was So, we got our fancy labels pr...

When I uttered the name - the man thought for a moment and stated that there's a company with one of the names I mentioned and he'd call them. I thought I hit the jackpot. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. He said that he couldn't verify info and turned to another person who apparently knew what he was doing in that building.

I almost turned to leave when the man looked at my face and must've felt sorry for me (I know I was at that time) and he said he'll try another number. I figured I'd go through the motions and let him call but... and to my surprise - it was Eric G. on the other end of the line and not only that - he actually remembered who I was So, we got our fancy labels printed and pasted in the appropriate places, signed in the manual log and before too long were on our way to the big CM HQ on the xxth floor (I'm sorry I'm not spelling out all of the details, I'm sure that security guard still has his gun and the last thing I want to do is divulge too much info)

Eric was standing in the doorway and the rest of the time there was much less hectic and much more fun. It was great to visit with the guys, talk shop a little, view some new cool things they were getting ready to implement (which are already up from what I could see) and just hang out for a little bit.

I won't go into too many details, but want to assure the audience here that the CM guys are just as nice in real life as they seem to be on CM. I was very glad to meet both of them, see the HQ, even share a Kodak moment with them. Speaking of which, I want to clarify why it appears that Eric and I are trying to be as far away from Adam as possible. This is NOT what it seems. Adam is a great guy, a little shy compared to me, but a very nice fellow. It's just that I wanted to get the CM logo in the background to be as visible as possible and that's why the pose the way it was. The logo still didn't fit like I wanted, but such is life.

The bottom line - as in the M&M commercial - "THEY DO EXIST!!!" and I'm very fortunate and greatful that I was able to visit with them personally.

It's hard for most people to comprehend... but when you come out of USSR - after having access to almost nothing and having almost nothing - one tends to have certain musicians and other celebrities viewed in a very special light. Not all, but certain ones. I have this immense admiration for people who do something exceptionally well. Mostly this fascination is with musicians, but really true of anything done exceptionally well and thus I wouldn't go as far as elevating some people to the holy level, but something just below that. I've always...

The bottom line - as in the M&M commercial - "THEY DO EXIST!!!" and I'm very fortunate and greatful that I was able to visit with them personally.

It's hard for most people to comprehend... but when you come out of USSR - after having access to almost nothing and having almost nothing - one tends to have certain musicians and other celebrities viewed in a very special light. Not all, but certain ones. I have this immense admiration for people who do something exceptionally well. Mostly this fascination is with musicians, but really true of anything done exceptionally well and thus I wouldn't go as far as elevating some people to the holy level, but something just below that. I've always had these feelings towards the Beatles, my favorite drummers Billy Cobham & Dave Weckl (who I'm going to see in a few short hours... YEAH!!!!) and some others. Seeing these kinds of folks in concert or meeting any of them is a very special event for me... and because of my huge admiration for what Clipmarks is, how few people are involved and how they continuously push the envelope and continue to evolve this phenomenal application - I have very similar feelings for the CM folks and thus meeting them in person was definitely one of these super special moments in my life, which will be always remembered and cherished.

I realize I sound like a kid, but just telling you how it is.

I want to publicly thank Eric G. & Adam for spending some time with me & my cousin and I promise to eventually wash that hand that they shook, but only to avoid some environmental disaster... not because I want to.

P.S. I wanted to visit CM HQ in my new Clipmarks T-shirt that I ordered from the site, but apparently other companies aren't as astute as Clipmarks and so I haven't received the T-shirt before the trip. Not sure if the guys beat some heads in on my behalf or what, but one day after returning - I got an e-mail that my CM t-shirt has been shipped (hopefully to the right place).

Now that you've read all of this and know that you can actually get a Clipmarks T-shirt - GO AND ORDER ONE (or more)!!!! and support Clipmarks... !!!!

Eric, Adam and the rest of the guys are too polite to say something like that and never would.. but I'm not, so I certainly did and will... Hey, it's a free country! a...

P.S. I wanted to visit CM HQ in my new Clipmarks T-shirt that I ordered from the site, but apparently other companies aren't as astute as Clipmarks and so I haven't received the T-shirt before the trip. Not sure if the guys beat some heads in on my behalf or what, but one day after returning - I got an e-mail that my CM t-shirt has been shipped (hopefully to the right place).

Now that you've read all of this and know that you can actually get a Clipmarks T-shirt - GO AND ORDER ONE (or more)!!!! and support Clipmarks... !!!!

Eric, Adam and the rest of the guys are too polite to say something like that and never would.. but I'm not, so I certainly did and will... Hey, it's a free country! and they deserve to be supported! So buy a shirt!

If these sentiments didn't sway you - perhaps carefully examining just how thin Adam is will...

@dorine1722 - thanks for your sentiments. It was nice to visit with THE guys, as I stated above and I'm familiar with the blogging concept, has been diligently doing so for each of my 2 kids so when they grow up and their father can't remember anything - they could literally relive their entire childhood by reading these blogs, with all the good times, bad times, funny times, photos etc. I have a video of myself sitting in a tub and scrubbing the old belly (I was 1 year old at the time). It's black & white and has no sound, playing at a different frame rate than normal, but I love watching the entire 1 minute of it. I have a video of my sister being 1 week old, just brought home from the ...

@dorine1722 - thanks for your sentiments. It was nice to visit with THE guys, as I stated above and I'm familiar with the blogging concept, has been diligently doing so for each of my 2 kids so when they grow up and their father can't remember anything - they could literally relive their entire childhood by reading these blogs, with all the good times, bad times, funny times, photos etc. I have a video of myself sitting in a tub and scrubbing the old belly (I was 1 year old at the time). It's black & white and has no sound, playing at a different frame rate than normal, but I love watching the entire 1 minute of it. I have a video of my sister being 1 week old, just brought home from the hospital and me seeing her for the first time in my life. So, I know how much these kinds of things can mean and I think blogging is an excellent tool to give children a blow by blow of all the years that they won't remember. Anyway, sorry to get philosophical and thanks for your suggestion.

Look at it this way - you've disciplined yourself enough to use Clipmarks consistently - so think of it as an extension to clipmarks. If that doesn't do the trick - in theory (and practice, actually) you could use Clipmarks for personal blog. The only problem there would be the photos, since if you want different photos for different postings - you couldn't just have one private clip with your child's name and have comments be the blog entries (although for text-only you certainly could).

I realize I'm way off topic here, but just think if you had a record how you were when you were 1 or 2 years old. When your first tooth came out, what the first word you said was, and zillion other impo...

Look at it this way - you've disciplined yourself enough to use Clipmarks consistently - so think of it as an extension to clipmarks. If that doesn't do the trick - in theory (and practice, actually) you could use Clipmarks for personal blog. The only problem there would be the photos, since if you want different photos for different postings - you couldn't just have one private clip with your child's name and have comments be the blog entries (although for text-only you certainly could).

I realize I'm way off topic here, but just think if you had a record how you were when you were 1 or 2 years old. When your first tooth came out, what the first word you said was, and zillion other important events. Granted, it wouldn't change your life much, if at all, but it would still be a cool thing to have... a glimpse into the era you can't recall, yet knowing you did all these things. Maybe it's just me, but I find it very appealing... of course unable to get to such info for myself, but since the technology allows - certainly want my kids to have such a record. Sometimes I look at entries made 1 or 2 years ago and it's interesting to read them... I almost can't wait to have my kids old enough to read about their past... and perhaps continue to keep up the blogs going into the future and then letting their kids do the same. Anyway, I hope you do keep at least some meaningful events in your child's life preserved in such a way...

Of course their life will be a lot different... my son was born with an e-mail account, I didn't know what color TV was until about the age 10 or so... with the pace of technology - no question their life will be different, but you're absolutely right about nostalgia... not that I miss my b&w TV, but I still look fondly at my old photos... seeing people who are no longer here... it's important to remember them, the events of yesteryear etc., no so much from a standpoint of wanting to bring it back, but to teach the next generation how it used to be and reflect on the past.. even philosophically at times.

And don't worry about anyone wondering about your mental state... if your son thinks it...

Of course their life will be a lot different... my son was born with an e-mail account, I didn't know what color TV was until about the age 10 or so... with the pace of technology - no question their life will be different, but you're absolutely right about nostalgia... not that I miss my b&w TV, but I still look fondly at my old photos... seeing people who are no longer here... it's important to remember them, the events of yesteryear etc., no so much from a standpoint of wanting to bring it back, but to teach the next generation how it used to be and reflect on the past.. even philosophically at times.

And don't worry about anyone wondering about your mental state... if your son thinks it's important - it's important, regardless of what anyone else thinks... besides, I read enough of your comments to not wonder about your mental state (just kidding...)

RS--I know we are way off topic here, but I just wanted to tell you how strange all this is right now. I've just started typing up the journal I kept of my daughter from the day she was born. It only goes to age 4, because I didn't have time to keep adding to it. Very busy age...Anyway, I want to type it up for her to have. I didn't want to forget a single moment of her life. When I told her I was doing this (oh, no, not another project!), I could tell she's very pleased. I want to have it complete, on CD, by her 18th birthday in Aug. I just can't believe my baby girl is already graduating from high school (we're homeschoolers).

The kids nowadays have videos of themselves when they...

RS--I know we are way off topic here, but I just wanted to tell you how strange all this is right now. I've just started typing up the journal I kept of my daughter from the day she was born. It only goes to age 4, because I didn't have time to keep adding to it. Very busy age...Anyway, I want to type it up for her to have. I didn't want to forget a single moment of her life. When I told her I was doing this (oh, no, not another project!), I could tell she's very pleased. I want to have it complete, on CD, by her 18th birthday in Aug. I just can't believe my baby girl is already graduating from high school (we're homeschoolers).

The kids nowadays have videos of themselves when they were little. We have only b/w photos of ourselves when were were kids. And not many of those. I'm still in awe of the technology we have. Wonder what our kids will have to use in 10 years! She just showed me a photo taken on a cell phone that has better quality than anything I've ever used! I'll be looking into the Scrapblog you clipped. Looks good. ( I didn't mean to turn this into a blog!)

Actually, Dorine1722, you're not that far off topic. The topic was about me visiting these awesome guys from NYC that came up with this incredible tool allowing us to have these kinds of conversations... so it's not that far off topic if you think about it.

I would've unlikely kept a journal like you had, because I'm just not into pens and paper... luckily there are now mediums I feel comfortable with that allow me to still accomplish the same goal. I think that's why blogs have been so popular... I'm sure your daughter would love your gift, not only because of what it says, but the fact that you were so busy and still took the time to record these events - that's a very big deal.

To p...

Actually, Dorine1722, you're not that far off topic. The topic was about me visiting these awesome guys from NYC that came up with this incredible tool allowing us to have these kinds of conversations... so it's not that far off topic if you think about it.

I would've unlikely kept a journal like you had, because I'm just not into pens and paper... luckily there are now mediums I feel comfortable with that allow me to still accomplish the same goal. I think that's why blogs have been so popular... I'm sure your daughter would love your gift, not only because of what it says, but the fact that you were so busy and still took the time to record these events - that's a very big deal.

To paraphrase a commercial - "paper - $1, pen - $2.50, memories of childhood - $priceless!". More modern incarnation would probably sound like "ISP fee - $30, computer - $899, memories of childhood blog - $priceless"

If your daughter's camera shoots better pictures that your normal camera - you need to serious consider upgrading your camera, because that should definitely not be the case. If you need some assistance, as a fellow Clipmarker, feel free to contact me off Clipmarks and I'll be happy to assist if you wish... of course as a fellow Clipmarker you'd pay the same fee for my assistance as you're paying for Clipmarks.